Blonde Ambition: Emeli Sandé

With the Stateside arrival of Emeli Sandé impressive Our Version of Events, the British invasion continues. However, the biracial beauty’s (her mother is British and father is African) soulful pop songs have already garnered her a No. 1 debut on the U.K. album chart.

After winning a BBC talent contest as a teenager, she went on to study medicine in her native Scotland before returning to her first love. Early fans include fellow musicians Coldplay; Adele, and Alicia Keys, who cowrote and produced the album’s track “Hope.”

Drum and bass elements drive the addictive first single “Heaven,” but Sandé, 24, also has a knack for powerful, emotionally resonant ballads, like the melancholy beauty “Clown” and the forceful yet vulnerable “Breaking the Law.” “I’m not too bothered about what category my music goes in,”she says.“But I want it to be respected.”

Get used to seeing Sandé’s signature shock of platinum blonde hair; she’s a talent with a long run ahead.